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Chuang
Tzu is the second greatest classical work of Taoist thought and philosophy in
China. It has had great influence both on China and on the rest of the world
since it began to be disseminated. It is mostly written in the form of fable.
All of the fables are written by traversing space-time to elucidate the Great
Tao and the philosophy of life. It has shone, is shining and will shine on the
development of the world with Taoist wisdom.

Chuang
Tzu is always an indispensible guideline to the people who are confused. As we
know, the rich material world cannot change the poor spiritual world. The
pursuit for material life is like a shackle, which makes it impossible for
people to find a final and stable home to return to. People are deeply involved
in the construction of material life without stop, but they can hardly find
where their real happiness is in their lives. Faced with this universal problem,
the Western society turns to Jesus for a solution while the oriental society
turns to Chuang Tzu’s “leisurely and care- free” philosophy for a solution.
Just like Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu always reminds people to find for themselves the
root of moral character—nature and return to it. If people do not return to the
root, they will lose their real happiness of life.

To
taste life better, people should read Chuang Tzu; to become leisurely and
carefree, people should read Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu can help people broaden
their horizon and learn how to look at their life from a higher standing point
and find real happiness for themselves. This work, though named New Paraphrase
of Chuang Tzu, is actually an English version of Chuang Tzu. It is just aimed
to set up a bridge between English readers and Chuang Tzu.

Zhongyuan Cai, English Teacher and Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) in Nanjing, China. English Editor of the magazine Southeast Culture in Nanjing Museum, one of the top-ten magazines of Social and Human Sciences in Jiangsu Province, China.